Question

The Union Council of Ministers is responsible to the _____.
A) President
B) Lok Sabha
C) Supreme Court
D) Rajya Sabha

Answer 1

Hint: This government organ is also called the House of the People. It is a characteristic of a bicameral legislature.

Complete answer:
The Union Council of Ministers is the executive authority of the Government of India. It includes the Prime Minister, the Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State, and sometimes Deputy Ministers. The Prime Minister is the head of the Council of Ministers. There is also a smaller executive body called the Union Cabinet which plays the role of the supreme decision making body of the Government of India.

The Council of Ministers is appointed by the President on advice from the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister can also advise the President to remove any of the Ministers from the council. The Council of Ministers and the Prime Minister are collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. It means that when a minister introduces a bill in the Lok Sabha and the Lok Sabha happens to disapprove it, the Lok Sabha holds the entire Council of Ministers responsible for the bill and not just the Minister alone.

A vote of no confidence can be introduced against a government at the Lok Sabha. If it is passed by the Lok Sabha by a majority vote, then the Prime Minister and the entire Council of Ministers have to resign collectively.

Thus, the correct answer is Option (B) Lok Sabha.

Note:The Ministers in the Union Council of Ministers have the following ranks:
i) Prime Minister – leader of the Union Council
ii) Deputy Prime Minister – is in charge in absence of the Prime Minister
iii) Cabinet Minister – Member of the Union Cabinet
iv) Minister of State (independent charge) – Junior Minister; may not report to the Cabinet Minister
v) Minister of State (MoS) – Deputy Minister; has to report to the Cabinet Minister